Stolen from Juliana

1. Name one thing that has always fascinated you.
How people figure things out. How stuff works. That kind of thing where you hear about how something was created and go "Huh...That's pretty clever."
2. What was a time when your life did not meet your or others’ expectations? I ALWAYS MEET MY EXPECTATIONS. I pretty much know how I'll act during a situation....or I'll underestimate so I can feel awesome later. I fall short for other people's expectations, though, which I feel bad about. I don't know why, but people, especially teachers and stuff, tend to overestimate my motivation and intelligence, and then blame my lack of success on other things. But it's all cool. At least I come off as someone who can do awesome things ^_~
3. Can you judge a book by its cover? It's all part of advertising. There are plenty of books that I've discovered simply because I went "Oh, dude, cool cover."
4. What is your lucky number, and why is it so lucky? I like prime numbers. 13 and 7 rank highly on the list.
5. Is there anything you, ‘just know’ and have no explainable or rational way to explain how you know it? I feel like I can usually tell when something is off with someone. Or how people will react. Like, I can usually predict how my mother will respond to something, even though there might not be a pattern or a specific "sign". Stuff that people can figure out about other people without being able to pinpoint the exact clue. BRAIN PROCESSING SPEEDZ.
6. Name one thing in your life you hope you never have to see or encounter again. I don't know. I can't really think of anything I'm afraid of facing... Maybe Mr. Brown, my band teacher. I just stopped showing up to practice and I feel guilty about it. He's an intense man, too, so... Anything else I feel like I could deal with without being terribly smothered.
7. What was the most personal question someone ever asked you? Did you answer it? I don't know. What I think is personal and what other people think is personal are different. I don't like it when people ask about my home-life. I answer, but I try to protect my mother a lot because I don't want people involved and definitely don't want to become the stuff of gossip. I don't know what the most personal was. I either didn't answer or I danced around answering it.
8. What was your first sexual experience? Speaking of personal questions...
9. What is one thing you wish you could change about yourself? I wish I'd shut up a bit or think a little more before I talk because sometimes I feel like an idiot, but I'm comfortable with the way I am. I feel like there isn't any point in wishing I was different because if I really wanted to be that way, I wouldn't think about it. I'd just be that way.
10. Have you ever wanted to trade places with someone else for a day, week, or a lifetime? If so, who was it and why? I'm sure I wanted to when I was younger, but not really. I wish I could do some of the things other people do, but AS me. I kind of wish I could see what it's like in the arts since I'll probably never experience it. I wonder what it would have been like if my mom went with my cousin's ideas and got me into modeling and acting and stuff like Amanda Bines. It'd be a totally different world. And I think Juliana's got it, too. I'd love to see what the world is like through Gaga's eyes.
11. What would someone see if they went in your closet right now? My closet? Who knows. I don't.
12. Have you ever had a crush on someone you shouldn’t? I could crush on whoever I like, bih.
13. Name something you’ve always wanted that you will never ever have. This is going to sound terribly spoiled of me, but I can't think of anything that I've wanted that I either haven't gotten or that I don't ever intend on getting. I don't think I'll ever go to Boston University like I wanted, but I think that I'll have the opportunity, but will decide against it because of cost or something. It's kinda different than "never ever" having.
14. Who was your first boyfriend? HA.
15. If you could choose to believe in Science or religion, which would you choose and why? I wish I could believe in both because they collide in so many different areas and I love the idea of religion, I just don't believe it. Half of science is probably wrong, too. It's a work in progress. At least science leaves room for discovery.
16. What was your last food craving? Avocadoes. I could so eat one right now.
17. What is your favorite place to get breakfast? "Cracker Barrel. I know it’s going to shorten my life, but at least I will die happy. And buttery."- Juliana. That about sums it up.
18. When did you last speak to your best friend? I said hi after reading this qquestion and then we shnuggled.
19. “Being bad feels pretty good.” What do you think about this? It's exciting. Adrenaline and all that good stuff. It's good for people as long as it's not going to hurt you. It's just sad because our ideas of "being bad" are things like not wearing our IDs in school. We think we're such rulebreakers.
20. What is the first thing you usually think of when you get up in the morning? Typically? "What can I make for breakfast?"
21. What is something you can do now that you could not do four years ago? Oh man, that'd be a long list. Four years ago... I was a lot less confident. Or something. I don't know. I think I had a weaker personality. So I can be more sure of myself now? I can do things without worrying about EVERYONE else's feelings, and I couldn't do that four years ago. Now I only worry about a select few and let the world keep turning. Can't make everyone happy.
22. Would you have sex with someone you don’t love? When it comes to sex, man, anything could happen. I don't think I'll ever get there, even with someone I love, so this question is being skipped.
23. Of all the people you know, who do you feel most comfortable talking to or can talk to about anything? There are some things I don't feel comfortable talking to anyone about, but for the purpose of the question, Juliana. Just because I know that she won't hate me for it because she probably thinks she's worse or something anyway. And because she would tell me anything I asked and I feel I'd owe her the same level of honesty.
24. Assuming you’ve lost your virginity, at what age did you lose it? HA.
25. How good are you at keeping secrets? Depends the level of the secret. If I'm told not to tell something, though, then I wouldn't. Unless it's a "for your own good" thing.
26. Do you have a personal secret even your closest friends don’t know? Psh, I don't know. I can't think of anyhting I make a point out of hiding.
27. Do you believe in reincarnation? No, but I love the idea of it. I think it's a better idea than "BE GOOD OR UR GOIN' TO HELL!!!!!!!!"
28. Has anyone (besides yourself) ever read your diary, either with or without your permission? Yep. Though it wasn't really a diary, but whatever. People are always snooping through my things. And I guess they always find something because they suck at pretending they didn't.
29. Have you ever had a crush on an authority figure (i.e. boss, teacher, etc.). Not that I can recall.
30. Have you ever felt as if you were a failure or somehow ‘failed’ someone you care about? Yeah =(

Rawr

I don't know why I don't use this. I used to blog all the time. And I mean ALL the time. I guess I fell out of it around the same time I stopped writing. I just don't find the time to do it. Spare time is spent doing other things that I enjoy more. Like doing things with real people and having actual conversations. I guess anything of interest I'd talk about here I tell my friends in real life. And since those are the same people that would stalk me on here, I can't find much to say. I don't do much deep thinking that I'd care to share with others and even if I did, I'd friend-lock it away from anyone outside of a handful of people. And I guess I have another blog just for that. Sometimes I feel bad that people pour their souls and worries into neatly printed paragraphs for me to read while I offer nothing but a few comments in return.

You would think I'd just delete this thing, but I probably never will. =)

Check it out

So...

I'm planning on cutting my hair really, really short this weekend so I figure I'll need to dress my face up more often to make it look less, I don't know... Boyish?

I'm very excited~

Quote

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference."

I've never really been one for religion, but there are so many stories and prayers that are so incredibly relevant to our lives. This has to be my favorite.

Seniors

It's hard not to be happy when you know you have friends like this that will never go away.



They aren't true friends unless they let you torture them with Twister.

The Shakespeare's a Lie

On the first day of my Senior year, I had English class. Naturally, I learned about Shakespeare. And what I learned about Shakespeare was that Shakespeare ever existed. The man who wrote all of those famous plays and poems existed, obviously, sure, but he wasn't the person we think we know him to be.

(Not him)

Behold, I reveal the truth!

...

Actually, I'm not going to. I don't care that much that "Shakespeare" was a pen name. If you do, then I'll be content with the fact that I just gave you something to look up.

What I'm REALLY excited to talk about is Hamlet. Yes, that's right, Hamlet. But not just any Hamlet. The 2009 production of Hamlet. The version of Hamlet where David Tennant plays Hamlet.

"Why, look you now, how unworthy a thing you make of me. You would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery; you would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my compass; and there is much music, excellent voice, in this little organ, yet cannot you make it speak. 'Sblood, do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me. "

Now this may be because I'm extremely unfamiliar with actors, but I cannot think of a better person to play Hamlet than David Tennant. The energy he puts into it is clear throughout the entire three hour long play. In fact, the entire cast was wonderful. I was a bit skeptical at first about the modernization of this film, but I'm incredibly happy with the way everything was set up. It all ended up working nicely.

"I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams. " The T-Shirt and jeans are to make sure I can be comfortable in the nutshell. At least I'll be able to look cool in my nightmares.

I'm still trying to figure out some of the extra symbolism in various things the director decided to put in the movie, though. Some bits of scenes throughout the film are shown as if through a video camera. I have no idea what that's supposed to symbolize, but seeing the film was made by a bunch of Shakespeare fanatics, I'm sure there's some kind of meaning. I'm pretty sure the barefoot thing has to do with Hamlet's insanity. Or perhaps some kind of lacking in defenses. After he first sees the ghost of his father, he doesn't wear shoes unless he's outside. Even at at the play, while everyone was in formal dress (even he, himself, was wearing a tux) failed to put on even socks. Ophelia, when she loses it, also has no shoes on.

Crazy people like to feel the wind between their toes.

It probably helps that I like the story of Hamlet already. My interest in this movie might also come from the fact that David Tennant plays as The Doctor in Doctor Who for three seasons. It might just have to do with this scene:



Or perhaps this one:



I have to say, though, that the ending was extremely anti-climactic. After watching the same movie for hours, I expected more. Honestly? The death of the King? Lame. Lame, lame, lame. Basically, Hamlet DEMANDS the king drink the poison that killed his mother. And the king does a partial shrug, makes a "eh, whatever" face and does it without a fuss. And then everyone else dies... which is weird because the scene failed to give me the impression that everyone was mortally wounded. Three hours of watching everything play out and after a few brief minutes, before I even understood what was happening, the room was full of dead people.

Overall, I'm thrilled. Because you know that in English class, when we talk about this book, I'm going to think of David Tennant. And I'm going to giggle like a little fangirl.

How's that for nerdy?

"That is the question."

What Einstein Told His Cook

Behold. The egg.

A cook's best friend. With this ingredient, you can create any meal. It's natural. It's healthy. It's awesome.

In fact, what makes the egg so interesting is that you can do so many things with it. It's pretty amazing that people figured out all these different uses. Cooking, in general, is actually very complicated. It's an art. In order to get, say, egg whites to solidify, you need to do more than just whip the egg. Conditions have to be met.

What are these conditions, you ask? Well why don't you find out yourself?































Books like these make me happy (and it isn't just because eggs are on the covers of all three of them).

I feel like cooking has lost so much over the years. Especially here in America. You've noticed it too. Take, for instance, the cooking channel. What do you see? Shows about how to cook ~Fast and Easy Meals~ It's all over the internet, it's all over the television, it's all over our cookbooks and supermarkets... Everyone wants to know how they can get out of cooking for their family without looking bad. It's become less about having a nice meal and more about how to save time- Which is all fine and dandy, what with jobs and soccer practice taking priority over what's going in your body, but I feel like there's a lot not mentioned outside of nutrition labels.

I think more people would cook for their families if they could do it right. If they knew that you could put loads of lime and tomatoes and other liquidy things into avocado to make guacamole without making it get watery, I bet more people would make it. Especially if they knew that it tastes better than the dehydrated stuff they've been getting out of a sealed bag in the supermarket. If people knew that the reason they can't get egg whites to solidify is because their whipping it in a plastic bowl, maybe they'd make more chocolate mousse.

Not to mention that it's beneficial to know why saturated fats are bad for you. It shouldn't be enough to just know that they are. It's essential to know how ingredients react with each other, and how they react with your body, for a person to be a good cook. And a healthy cook. Kudos to the people who figured out that they could sell instant mashed potatoes in a pouch, but sometimes I wonder how many people consider the health implications of such products compared to the real thing.

At the very least, it's super cool to know about. Think of all the people you'll impress when you tell them exactly what went into their lightly toasted everything bagel.